YORK, Pa., Dec. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Unilife Corporation ("Unilife" or "Company") (NASDAQ: UNIS, ASX: UNS) today announced that another U.S. based pharmaceutical company has commenced stability and evaluation studies of the Unifill syringe for use with multiple injectable drugs.

The target drugs, which include both pipeline drugs as well as commercially approved drugs that will benefit from lifecycle extension, are high-value therapeutics for chronic diseases and require periodic injections. The customer is also reviewing other Unilife devices for use with additional injectable drugs in their portfolio.

Mr. Alan Shortall, CEO of Unilife, said: "The supply of Unifill syringes to this pharmaceutical customer for use with so many of their injectable drugs at one time is a major accomplishment.The customer cited the unique value proposition of the Unifill syringe, with its automatic, integrated and highly intuitive safety features, as a key factor in their selection process. This is not surprising given how attractive and differentiated the Unifill syringe is compared to conventional prefilled syringe technologies.

"The commercial value of the strong relationship we have established with this pharmaceutical customer should rapidly expand beyond near-term device sales as we formalize a series of clinical development agreements and commercial supply contracts. We expect to generate accelerating, incremental revenues with this customer moving forward, with peak annual demand of between 25 million and 35 million units of Unifill annually for their initial series of target drugs."

"This customer is just one of many pharmaceutical companies that are selecting our devices to enable or enhance the delivery and commercial success of their injectable therapies. As I stated during our recent Annual General Meeting, there is a tremendous amount of business activity now occurring across our commercial pipeline. In the last month alone, we have held meetings with senior executives from more than a dozen pharmaceutical companies as part of advanced, ongoing discussions that relate to every device platform across our portfolio. We look forward to announcing the formalization of many of these commercial relationships in the weeks and months ahead," Mr. Shortall concluded.

About the Unifill SyringeThe Unifill ready-to-fill (prefilled) syringe is the world's first and only known prefilled syringe with automatic safety features fully integrated within the glass barrel. It is a primary drug container, a safety device and a needle containment system all rolled into one. The Unifill syringe is supplied as per standard handling systems for integration into fill-finish systems used for equivalent conventional prefilled syringes. Compared to ancillary safety products attached onto prefilled syringes, Unifill can help streamline fill-fill systems and significantly reduce transport, packaging, and storage costs. USP Class Six compliant materials reside within the drug-fluid path.

The Unifill syringe is designed for safe, simple, and convenient use by either healthcare workers or patients who self-administer prescription medication. An audible, tactile click signals the injection of the full dose and the automatic activation of a needle retraction mechanism. Operators can control the speed of needle retraction directly from the body into the barrel of the syringe. The combination of automatic, operator-controlled retraction features within the Unifill syringe can help to virtually eliminate the risk of infection from needlestick injuries. The plunger is automatically locked after needle retraction, to prevent re-use of the device and encourage convenient and compact disposal.

The Unifill syringe is now in production at Unilife's production facilities in York, Pennsylvania, and available for supply to interested pharmaceutical parties.

Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements that address operating performance, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to our management. Our management believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made. However, you should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements because such statements speak only as of the date when made. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. In addition, forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, events and developments to differ materially from our historical experience and our present expectations or projections. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those described in "Item 1A. Risk Factors" and elsewhere in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and those described from time to time in other reports which we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.